


Three words

by orphan_account



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Gen, NO DEATH, New Black Cat, New Ladybug, No Blood, No Gore, Why Did I Write This?, a really messed up one, and still a friggin mess, but all too realistic, i immediately regret writing this, like a ton of bricks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 01:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16651909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Three words.The new Black Cat and Ladybug were just three words into their superhero career and their entire world has gone to hell.Just like that.





	Three words

(present time)

Three words.

The new Cat Noir and Ladybug were just three words into their superhero career and their entire world has gone to hell. They were sure that the universe was playing the sickest of jokes on them.

“Ladybug” he called her. And “Black Cat” she called him. And at that particular moment, roughly 20 seconds since their first meeting, overlooking the old city from a beautiful church, they knew they were entirely and totally screwed.

\---

(A few days before)

“Artin, we cannot delay this any longer.” Wayzz told the monk. “The chosen ones have been selected and both Nooroo and Duusu have been activated. We've kept the miraculouses in the monastery for this, and the time has come.”

The monk cussed and slammed his fist at the table.

“There must be another way! This can't be! Do you realize just **how bad** this is?” Artin wanted to sound exasperated, but in truth he was desperate. Oh so desperate.

_Who chooses these things anyway? Whoever that is, he’s got one sick sense of humor, or at least very bad karma._

“I don't understand you humans. I really don't. But it matters little. These two will have to make it through.” Wayzz replied.

“You're saying it as if it's a possibility, at all.” Artin replied, though he knew it wouldn't change anything. This time, the church decided it's not getting involved again. He'd say extra prayers for those two, they were going to need every bit of it.

\---

Hawk Moth examined the olive-green and white suit in front of him. He adored the two olive-branch crossed sword tags placed on its shoulders and the sword-and-olive-branch golden pin adorning the collar.

_I worked very hard for those, just as much as I did getting my hands on Nooroo and Duusu._

With that, his mind turned to his partner. Just as corrupt as he was, but on the other side. Which was perfect, utterly and totally perfect. Both sides of the same coin, or coin-making machine that it was. It was simply a situation to be taken advantage of.

He looked through his window from the cozy Villa that his corruption earned him. Betraying his country proved to be a very profitable business. The view was breathtaking, rolling hills with pine forests and Road 1 winding towards the capital, packed with cars.

_And all these people don't suspect a single thing. In a few days, operation butterfly will commence. Some underlings might just die, as may some Innocents. So what? That never stopped me before, now did it?_

\---

Not too far, about 15 aerial miles or so northeast, lay a totally different Villa. Small distance and yet worlds apart. Overlooking a similar view of a de-facto economic capital, as much as its residents never wanted to call it one.

That Villa was also the illegitimate child of that very same corruption, but one that many people did know about and were powerless to stop. And how could they? if anyone as much as squeaked, they could find themselves torn of their economic lifeline - at best.

Travel or work permits revoked, false allegations and even outright unwarranted arrests. Such was life and people simply got used to it. Then again, it was close enough for La Peon to send his feathers toward their target, should they even be needed.

\---

Artin could cuss and swear in 5 different languages and he made use of his entire vocabulary as his car made its way to one of the outlying villages. His cover was giving a special history lesson.

It was a good one, but a religious fanatic might still get in his way. He finally found himself standing in front of the class, eyeing the one whom he already knew was one of the chosens he was to meet today. He was tall and rather muscular, unkempt black hair and bright green eyes with a mischievous look.

 _Poor kid. May God have mercy on your soul. you're going to need every last drop of it,_ Artin thought as he slipped the box into the boy's handbag after the lesson ended.

\---

And onwards his car went. It wasn't long before he found himself at a long waiting line. He didn't have much time and he prayed he can get through that one today. True, members of the clergy usually got past the checkpoints with relative ease, but things were as fickle as ever.

An unlucky chance incident might force him to turn back. The only thing that stopped the stream of swaering was him reaching his turn at the checkpoint. The soldier looked at him with prying eyes.

“I'm giving a talk about religious coexistence.” he told him.

_Please don't let him feel that I'm hiding something. This would turn the whole thing into a catastrophe._

He finally let him pass and Artin sighed with considerable relief, though he did overhear him mutter “gullible peaceniks” just a moment after he passed. Whatever, he had more important things to care about than this.

\---

These coexistence gatherings were generally a sham and that's how most participants looked at them. True, a few were genuine about it but in truth, getting credit or even benefits for it with someone else's money was equally a motive.

One couldn't gauge how many people truly believed it and how many were simply opportunistic cynics. Everybody knew that the real trouble didn’t lay with people who could agree on things, it was with the people who couldn’t.

Chewed cliches, tasteless refreshments, bombastic declarations that would amount to nothing, trying to bridge what no one could ever see bridging.

But Artin didn't care for that today, because she was there. Blue eyes and brown hair, a petite and lightly tanned figure was his target. His eyes studied her with intent. What was she like? Is she ready for this thing? What kind of upbringing did she have?

And yet, those questions may just well remain forever unanswered. He wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again.

He managed to slip the box into her bag as well, with a sigh of relief. He felt like a coward, he wanted to help more than that, but he was also deathly afraid, and for very good reasons.

_My work here is done for now. Tikki… it's up to you. That girl's going to need you oh so much._

\---

Later that evening, a teenage boy and a teenage girl, both living not too far from each other and yet a world apart, each stared at an odd wooden box respectively laid in front of them.

“How did that enter my bag?” each asked themselves.

The girl was the first one to open her box, uncovering a pair of ladybug earrings. She immediately smiled at their sight. As she touched them, a flash of light blinded her as Tikki emerged.

“Hello! I’m Tikki, the Ladybug Kwami.” She told the Girl.

She was phased for a moment, but then she smirked. “Ladybug, huh? That’s what everybody calls me. In fact, that’s the meaning of my name!”

She even had a Ladybug ring to go with it and an assortment of red and black clothes.

“It was always an in-joke, really.” She told Tikki. “So what exactly is it that you do?”

“When you place your earrings on, I can transform you to the superheroine Ladybug.” Tikki replied. “Hawk Moth will try to attack your city soon enough. You and your partner, the black cat, will have to stop him. The words to transform are ‘spots on’ and your special power is ‘lucky charm’, which will summon an item that will aid you in your task. But remember, after you call it, you will have 5 minutes before you transform back.”

The girl skipped a beat at the mention of a partner. This was going to be thrilling, unlike her life thus far. She always did want to be a superheroine.

“I will do it, Tikki! How does the enemy look like?” She asked.

“I am pretty sure you’ll recognize an akumatized victim once you see them for the first time. You will need to break the object the Akuma has gotten into, and then purify it with your yo-yo. Once you’ve done that, throwing your lucky charm item to the sky should fix any collateral damage done.” It was a long explanation but the Girl was patient enough to wait through it all.

\---

The boy was the second one to open his box, uncovering a paw-patterned ring. He immediately took a liking to that one, indeed. After all, everyone around called him an alley cat, due to a now-legendary chase when he was mistaken for someone else throwing stones. He wasn’t into that kind of trouble, but more often than not trouble just seems to follow you whether you like it or not. Either way, as he touched the ring, a flash of light blinded him and Plagg came out.

“Yo, kid. I’m plagg, the Kwami of destruction. Got anything to eat? I’m starved!”

Plagg looked about at the room. It was pretty plain, but there was some traditional goat cheese cake left over which he quickly downed before the stunned boy could even say a word. Then again, that behaviour quite immediately put a smile to the kid’s face.

“So, you’re like a supernatural thing?” He asked with curiosity.

“Yeah, you can say that alright. I will turn you into the Black Cat and grant you with the power of destruction. To transform you will say ‘claws out’ and your destruction is called using ‘cataclysm’. But beware, you can only destroy one thing and afterwards you will have 5 minutes before you’re back to normal. Get me some more of that delicious food and we’re good to go again. You will meet your partner and you will hunt down the Akumatized victims together.”

His heart raced. This was like a dream come true. Being a superhero, drawn out of the drab reality he was living in… yes, that could be something alright. And with a partner, no less!

\---

(an hour ago from present time)

This city had its share of lunatics. Not only that, it even had a special lunacy syndrome named after it. Hawk Moth didn’t even have to make any effort to find a suitable target. He just let his butterfly fly away to the old center of town and pick a potential lunatic. Any potential lunatic would do.

No guidance needed, no scouting for negative emotions… it was like an overly ripe garden with juicy fruit just waiting to be picked and savored. That particular Akuma fluttered about as if considering amongst myriad potential targets, only to eventually land on one such person’s cape.

“Richard the Lionheart, I am Hawk Moth. Nearly a thousand years ago, You left a piece of work incomplete. Raise your army and return your glory!” Hawk moth called it with considerable delight, relishing on how he flexed out his power. To be honest, he used to do that a lot too, enjoying the privilege his position gave him, and now having a supernatural one to match.

“With pleasure, Hawk Moth!” was the reply, as his cape turned into the form of a crown. Black and Purple enveloped him, as he took on the form of a crusader king, bearing a massive sword and plate armor, accompanied by dozens of Knights. In no time, people nearby have been transformed into Knights as well, already planning to execute their destiny of conquest.

\---

Both teens watched the sight over their respective TV sets. It was time. “Spots on!” the girl said, as Tikki transformed her into Ladybug. “Claws out!” her partner did the same, as Plagg transformed him as well.

One with a yo-yo, another with an extensible baton, drawing near the center of happenings. A red hopping form and a black one, finally meeting at the spires of the Russian church of Maria Magdalena to look at the mess below, down at the old city of Jerusalem.

Three words later and the two could no longer look at each other. After a few minutes that seemed like forever, slowly but surely, they turned to face each other again. In each other's eyes they saw the enemy and the ally they both were to each other and winced hard.

All they did was call each other by name. But he said it in Arabic and she said it in Hebrew. And they both realized exactly what it meant.

That they were totally, utterly and irrevocably screwed.


End file.
